Of Sunsets and Chickens
by LilMissFerret
Summary: Of Old Friends and New Beginnings Part 1 of 5 Set after the Super Samurai finale. Mike would follow her anywhere. Even if it meant meeting the family.


**A.N. Finally, finally finished Super Samurai yesterday and oh my freaking god that was the best thing in the entire world. Literally the best executed finale in Power Rangers history. I was bawling! Only a few episodes have done that to me. P.S. Ummmm Did you see _Skull?_ OMG I'm going to die, it was so perfect.**

 ***gasping for breath* Oh, yes, the story. Enjoy! Its super adorable in my opinion. A real squee-fest. :D**

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 **Of Sunsets and Chickens**

It had taken a bus, a plane, and a creaky ride in a beat up farm truck to land in the middle of nowhere, but Mike couldn't have been happier.

He had been polite in the truck - he honestly didn't want Emily's dad to hate him before they'd even _made_ it to the house - but he couldn't help snatching up her tiny hand in his as they slipped out of the Chevy and onto the gravel.

The air was warm, and full of a thousand things he'd never smelt before. He spun them around to take in the view, enjoying the way the sinking sun painted everything in a golden shadow.

"Wow," he started, taking in the rolling land around them. Everything was alive and thriving, from the grass underfoot to the chickens noisily searching for food near by. "This is awesome!"

Emily smiled warmly at him. "So you like it?" she asked quietly. He knew she was worried he wouldn't like it on the farm, far removed from the hustle and bustle of the city.

It was true, he had never seen this much open space in his entire life, but he was the nature ranger for nothing. "Are you kidding?" he returned, matching her smile. "Nothing could be more perfect than this."

Emily's eyes sparkled in the evening sun, and if her father hadn't coughed at that moment, he would have kissed her.

The man had old west charm, sun-baked skin, wiry mustache, and perfectly curled cowboy hat and all. He had old time-y ways of thinking too, and Mike was more than a little worried he might get kicked out of the house and have to sleep in the barn.

Mike let go of the girl instantly, turning to face the man. "Here, let me get the bags," he offered, gesturing for the bags clutched in his hands. "It's the least I can do, since you've been so kind to have me over."

Mr. Dixon eyed him suspiciously, but handed the bags over nonetheless. "This ain't no bed and breakfast, you here? If you plan on staying here with Emmy, you'll have to get your hands dirty."

"Yes, sir," he answered, his tone suddenly serious. "What ever you need me to do, just let me know. I don't know how much Em's told you about me, but I've never done anything like this. I'm willing to learn, though."

"Go on, then, get inside. I'm sure y'all are starving, I know that plane food ain't very filling."

He didn't have to be told twice, adjusting his grip on the luggage as he followed Emily's path toward the house. The farmhouse itself was a modest place, nothing too fancy, with a warm, homey kind of feeling. It was a far cry from the apartment he'd spent most of his life in.

Emily's mom, Martha, was waiting for them in the kitchen. She was a beautiful woman, and she seemed to fit right in with the country atmosphere. He had studied up a bit though, and knew she had once been the yellow ranger, along side his uncle and Jayden's father.

"Well hello there, stranger!" Martha called, beaming from ear to ear as she wrapped her daughter in a tight hug. Emily returned the gesture with genuine excitement. "Hi, Mom."

The pair chatted for a moment, and Mr. Dixon had squeezed around them to grab himself a cup of black coffee. Mike, on the other hand, stood awkwardly by the door, bags in hand, glancing around the room just to give himself something to do.

The moment didn't last long, however, before he was being tugged over for introductions. "Hello, Mrs. Dixon, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Martha made a face. "Mrs. Dixon is my mother-in-law, God rest her soul, its just Martha, all right?"

"Yes, ma'am," he answered swiftly, earning himself another scowl. "Yes, _Martha,_ " he corrected.

"That's better," she assured him with a smile so like Emily's. "Come have a seat, Mike. I've got chicken in the oven, I hope that's okay."

"Sounds great," he beamed. "I'm not picky."

Emily laughed, slipping her arm through his. "Mike would eat just about anything," she told her mother. "Expect Mia's cooking," she added to him.

He couldn't believe how thrilled she looked to be home, and it made his own heart soar to be here with her. He didn't know if it could have been anymore perfect, except, he supposed, if Antonio had been brave enough to invite Jayden on that cruise with him.

 **o.O.o**

"So you're Travis's boy?" Martha asked him a bit later as she spooned copious amounts of mashed potatoes on his plate.

"No, Travis is my uncle. He never had any kids, so he gave me his morpher when I was about twelve," he told her as she continued to add more food. Two large pieces of barbequed chicken, an entire ear of corn, the potatoes, and a heaping spoonful of green beans now decorated the china, and he'd already been eyeing the basket of homemade rolls in the center of the table. "Actually, my mom, Travis's sister, her name is Emily, too."

Emily squeezed his hand under the table, she had wanted to meet his family too, but they were off to visit family down south when they'd made plans to leave.

"Oh! I remember her. She was a little thing when we started out, but she ended up moving to Angel Grove to live with her father at some point."

"Yeah," he agreed. "That's where my parent's met. Dad's from Stone Canyon, though. He moved up because the baseball team was better in Angel Grove," he continued, shaking his head. "I never had much of their love of sports though."

They tucked into dinner, and Mike had to remind himself to slow down, especially with the string of questions that kept being bounced off of him.

They talked about his sister, Serena, who was currently asleep, recovering from a recent surgery, his childhood, and the time they'd sent as the Samurai Rangers. It was odd talking about their ranger duties with civilians. Even his own mother was pretty clueless about the whole ordeal, but she was never in line to be the green ranger, anyway. It was made doubly awkward when his dad was around, since he was pretty interested in keeping up with the other ranger teams scattered up and down the west coast.

When they'd finished up, he was quick to jump in line to wash dishes, soon followed by Emily's offered help. Thankfully, her parents excused themselves, leaving the pair alone for the first time in hours.

"They like you," Emily told him softly as she washed the dishes. He had been left with drying duty, which suited him fine.

"You think so?" he asked nervously. "Your mom's great, but your dad…"

She laughed, "He's a bit gruff. He's just being protective. I _am_ the baby, you know."

"I don't know," he told her, eyeing her up and down. "You look pretty grown up to me."

Emily bumped him with her hip, hardly shifting him from his position. "Hush! Daddy is going to skin you," she laughed.

"It would be worth it," he returned with a bright smile, "if I got to spend every day with you."

She turned away, unable to look at him as a pretty blush stretched over the planes of her face. "You're too sweet."

"You'll get tired of me eventually," he told her jokingly.

Her answer sent a shock through his system as she turned, serious faced, and simply said, "Never."

 _Fin_


End file.
